Keeping all those folks together in a confined area day in and day out, for a week at a time, presented morale problems. But SAC knew that providing good food in pleasant surroundings would greatly lessen the tensions and help raise morale. So that's exactly what they did and the effort paid off.

The Alert Facility dining hall was the one key place that received great attention from top brass. The tables were more like those of a good restaurant than a G.I. dining hall. Table cloths, chinaware and silver replaced the more typical metal trays. Even flowers and attractive wall murals adorned the room. Music was piped in to improve the ambiance. And though meals were served cafeteria style, there were choices of entrees. And portions were generous.

The Alert Facility at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana (later re-named to Grissom AFB) was called the Bunker Hilton, and for good reason. The Hilton Hotel people contributed a number of items to dress up the place, especially the dining area. And though one could hardly compare the place to a resort hotel, it was certainly made much more pleasant because of such contributions. SAC took pretty good care of its flight crews.

Not only did flight and maintenance support crews, for bombers and tankers alike, enjoy the best of food, they were able on special occasions to be joined by their families. Thanksgiving and Christmas were the two big days when the Alert Facility hosted wives, mothers, children and other close relatives of alert crews.

Security was tight. Getting into, or out of, that facility was not easy. All people, crews and families alike, had to be checked and cleared for access. It was, after all, a highly restricted area that was built to protect the alert aircraft and the crews. But the presence of family members for crews so confined greatly improved morale. The morale of those dependents was helped as well.